Midnight Revived
by Vamplis
Summary: Mater Motley has taken control of gorgossium from her Grandson, the presumed dead, Christopher Carrion. Altering the face of Midnight might not prove so easy if Carrion returned, creating a civil war on Gorgossium. Added Chpt 5!
1. Motleys Midnight

The birds were avoiding Gorgossium these nights, and all nights since Christopher Carrions reported demise. In fact it seemed that the overhauling of the midnight island by Mater Motley had caused some of Carrions servants to flee for cover, the birds included. It had been cruelly stated by the old hag herself to anyone who dare mention her grandsons' name, let alone show him support, that they would suffer a gruesome death immediately. As if occupancy on Gorgossium, where all the imagined horrors of the Abarat are contained, wasn't enough of a threat to ones mortality now this manner of persuasion ensued all whose allegiance formerly lied with Carrion.

Most succumbed to Motleys wishes, being too afraid to challenge or rebel against her ruler ship. Others swore that they had never been aligned with Carrion in the first place, what with it rumored that he had attacked his own grandmother; the idea of support was absurd. It was Motley who always had the power and Motley who always had the focus and drive to rule Gorgossium. For others however, it seemed too impossible that their all-powerful Lord was dead, demolished by an old woman and a bunch of seamstresses. It almost seemed like a myth that had been created as a form of propaganda, as a way to control all aspects of Gorgossium.

Indeed it was myth in part because even Mater Motley was unsure of Carrions demise. It was always assumed that Carrion was ripped apart by a flesh eating Mantizac in the depths of the Isabella. The truth is that no one really knew for sure and this unknowing mystery is what kept a certain twisted devotion for Carrion alive. Even if they knew of what had happened in the water logged house of the hereafter between Carrion, Boa, and Candy, the idea that he was dead would still fall in the realms of the unthinkable….

The night was stirred by the squawking of many ravens that had recently appeared in this vicinity of the Abarat. It was unusual for that type of bird to flock to this time of Night and the image gave locals quite a fright considering the birds' nightmarish origin.

The strangest aspect of their sudden arrival was their devoted flight pattern. They swooped and encircled an area of water that was sheltered by shadow an area that was almost inaccessible by ordinary means due to the violent whirlpool that encircled it.

Most fishermen never ventured near this natural phenomenon because it was tinged with a red glow giving off mist that made visibility almost impossible. The most amazing part of the ravens' devotion to this swirling mass was their ability to dive into its center, momentarily disappearing, then reappearing as if unaffected by its raging motions. Some even stayed down in its depths almost seeming to be resting for a time. With such an anomaly present and such eerie sights associated with it the locals had, over the many years since its initial discovery, come to ignore its existence and it was considered taboo to talk about it even in the mildest of conversations.

The dark storm clouds of Djit, where the hour was always 2 am, emitted enough coverage to conceal many a secrets and most people steered clear of the island for fear of getting struck by the venomous lightening bolts that shot from those clouds. The formation of the red-misted whirlpool several decades earlier in a cove on the island that lay directly across from Jiberish, where the hour was always 11 pm, was considered by Abaratian geologists to be a natural occurrence. It was likely to have occurred, thought the scientists, from the building energy constantly contained on the island. Of course it was highly unlikely that anyone could get into the islands core to test this theory, unless one thought they might survive being hit by a multitude of bolts simultaneously. So the ravens continued to flock to this tiny cove unnoticed not only by its hidden location, but also due to the present situation in the Abarat.

On Gorgossium, the total destruction of Inquisit by Mater Motley was in high progress. The Todo miners toiled throughout the undying midnight packing clay pile upon clay pile with the purpose of rebuilding a new Fortress. The black rock that grew out of the soil of Gorgossium, forming a massive dark forest, was being uprooted by giant monsters that had until recently hidden within the boulders dark shadows. This was indeed construction on a grand scale worthy for only the highest of monarchy. As Carrions towers lay in ruins, Mater Motley sat in the only remaining tower, the thirteenth tower, around which the new empire would be built.

Motley was consumed by her glorious reconstruction and of course by her need to keep sewing her Midnight army of clay filled Stitchlings. Even in the chaos of the present Motley sewed with unnerving ease, still talking to herself in her ancient tongue of her plans to come. Her chanting came to an abrupt halt when one of her stitchlings entered the door.

"Your Highness" exclaimed the stitchling as he bowed before her

"Have you any news yet?" Motley demanded

"In all reports and rumors your highness it is of common knowledge that your grandson is truly dead. News has come all the way across the Abarat that the girl, the one from the hereafter, witnessed his final demise."

Mater Motleys eyes showed little expression, their snake slits barely giving notice to the nervous fidget of the news bearer.

"So it is still possible that he is alive?"

" Possible but highly unlikely as he was barely alive when seen by the girl. He was apparently destroyed by a giant wave shortly after."

"If there is any hint or trace of him being alive, no matter how insignificant you think it be, I want to know immediately."

Motley said, her voice growing in tone.

"I cannot afford to take risks from news across the abarat."

"Yes your highness."

And with that the stitchling was dismissed leaving Motley to contemplate the news of her grandsons' death. A widened and wicked smile passed across her face, as if the thought had bought her a moment of pleasure.


	2. A Rumble Through The Abarat

The waters surrounding Xuxux were calm for the most part of this night and there weren't any of the usual boats packed with merchandise, fishermen, and passengers gliding through its realms. To stop at this port was considered unholy and blasphemous so the only ship that was traveling along the waters curtly obeyed the laws of long dead kings, and the fear of their armored guards. The captain of the merchant ship, the Gabrezze, was on board busily navigating for his next stop, the island of Soma Plume. As his ship passed through the straight between Gorgossium and Xuxux, the Captain, a man who prided himself for his ability to obtain great clarity and intense focus on whatever task he chose, was suddenly swayed from his duty by a low and steady rumble. The rumble was such that it beckoned him up onto to deck to observe where it had originated. The ship was flanked by two possibilities for the source and if the captains' intuition served him right it seemed the rippling sound was surprisingly enough emanating from Xuxux.

As the captain studied his view to be sure of what he was hearing his skipper came up from behind. The skipper had skin of a translucent blue hue and green hair braided long in many plaits down his back. He seemed to be aware of the unusual rumble and offered some theories of his own.

"I hear tales from other mates that t'is an evil force coming from below" the Skipper quipped.

"And den again if ya look to yer right ya see all dat construction over der" his finger pointed casually to the chaotic mists of Gorgossium. "It would notta be so hard to think dat all da messin' around by dat old Hag has caused da waters to shake." The captain nodded nervously as he glanced over to Gorgossiums shore. Yes" he agreed, "it seems that amount of destruction could cause the waters to rumble." At this he walked away and returned to his navigating in his private cabin.

His nerves were calmed for a moment, upon where he felt yet another rumble. His unease began to build again for not only had the rumble grown in intensity but also he was sure it was not a product of Gorgossium as previously suggested. He walked out onto the deck once more to see the once calm water rolling about as if in a storm. He looked up at the clear night sky and back down to the waters depths. As a boy he had heard many bedtime stories of monsters unseen in the depths of the sea. Giant light depraved monsters who could, if unleashed from the ocean floor, envelope and destroy the entire Abarat. He fumbled through his memory for the name of those creatures Requeiad, no no he thought, that wasn't it but close. It was on the tip of his tongue and than he had lost it. He shook his head and thought to himself how silly he was being thinking of such fables. Only a little time left and The Gabrezze would be out of the straight and well on its way to Soma Plume. Next time he thought we'd have to take the long route around if such regal construction was going to make uneasy passage for them.

Back to his charts he went pushing the sudden rise of waves out of his mind. It was the sound of panicked voices that stirred him up on deck for a third time. The Captain could see the look of alarm on all the crews' faces as they scurried around. The Skipper rushed up to his side and the Captain demanded to know what was the matter.

"Cap n'" the skipper stammered "da ship it is filling wid water, and da second mate sir, he said dat der is a hole in the bodum of da ship." The skippers voice was growing more hysterical with every bit of detail he bestowed. "He said he said dat anodda mate gotta pulled through da hole."

The Captain gazed at the skipper in disbelief; he walked further ahead to see indeed the lower decks of the ship were beginning to fill with water. Within seconds his mind raged a multitude of reasoning. They could have hit something, tore a hole in the hull. No no he argued with himself, not the right position, and surely we would have felt such a hit. Than his mind drifted back to the rumbles of the sea and the bedtime story monsters.

When his gaze came back from his thoughts he could clearly see that the ship was indeed going to sink, and nothing was going to stop that. Quickly the Captain flew back to his cabin, opening the container of flares, back out on deck he rushed to release an emergency call. Yes and now for the Life boats he thought. If it was a Mantiziac that got through the ship, but that was impossible his mind countered, the bottoms were painted red. His thoughts were getting clouded and all sorts of ideas came flooding through, than came a giant jolt to the ship. This jolt bought about a full-blown terror on every crewmembers face. It was as if a great hand from beneath the waters surface was shaking them.

In order to keep the crew as calm as he possibly could the Captain offered some reassuring words,

"Crew, we are very close to the shore of Xuxux, it won't take but a slight bit of rowing in the dinghy and we'll be safe on land." This seemed to calm them for a moment, until most thought of the ever-threatening idea that there may be some creature below there to capsize the tiny rowboats. The idea of finding safety on Xuxux wasn't all too reassuring either considering they would have royal guards to deal with. The Captain could see their thoughts so he countered, "I am sure the authorities on Xuxux will understand our present situation, and it is the only immediate avenue of relief we have." So the crew began lowering the boats with somewhat of a restored focus.

Just as they seemed to be gathering themselves and calculating a safe escape, and it seemed they had some time before the ship would actually sink, the crew of the Gabrezze were hit with a horrific blow. The ships hull was suddenly thrust upwards, causing the crew to be hurled back down towards the hole in the ship. The Captain, lost in the unbalancing of the ship, glanced back as he held on for his life to see several crewmembers being sucked through the hole in the ship. And to his sudden terror he realized that the entire ship was being ripped downwards into the sea and that this was their final voyage across the Abarat.


	3. Nightmare Cathedral

The flickering lights from the wicker torches scorched the grassy surface of the carnival grounds providing enough light needed to illuminate the hour on Babylonium. The hour was sweet and full of amazing life, layer upon layer of it so vast that one could visit yearly and not even begin to experience all of its wonders. The Crowded arenas and Palisades this day were alight with a different sort of energy, an energy that was built from the buzzing of whispers. They started out as a low hum on the periphery of the island those whispers, than gradually rippled throughout the area building in force amongst the arena attending crowds so that the noise (if heard from far away) sounded like the rumble of an approaching army that contained a great power. The event that fuelled those whispers to life was of course the disappearance of the Cargo ship, The Gabrezze.

Many ships had been lost to the Isabella in the Abarats' long seafaring history; but there were not wars and girls from the Hereafter coinciding with them. What made The Gabrezze even more the topic of hushed talks was that it was said that a young shipmate had survived the wreck, and was seeking asylum in Xuxux from the Guards of the Kings temples.

"I heard from my cousin third time removed, that a giant sea creature from the realms of the Hereafter was to blame." Said one man standing line waiting patiently to attend one of many operas.

"Silly man," replied a lady, "It's that Mater Motley, how convenient that it should happen so close to her shores. I don't know what on earth anyone would be doing making passage through that straight."

"Well t'is the shortest route to Soma Plume" Said another man, "Cheap on fuel."

The man who had spoken initially piped up again, "I also heard that it could be that Christopher Carrion, though he's been reported dead. Not that I'm complaining or anything wretched man, the less Carrions the better I always say."

The second man of the group tilted his head towards the two and lowered his whisper down another octave

"I heard that this is the sign of more trouble to come, I've heard that whatever got that ship, and I heard that ship was pulled down by a force, not sunk by accident, but whatever it was is ancient evil. That this could be the end my friends."

The woman and man that made up his audience stood silent for no more than half a second, as if contemplating the idea, than both laughed simultaneously. "Yes, yes," said the woman. "All stories of gloom and doom I'm sure. It's most likely the ship hit something and they all panicked, simple as that. Happens all the time out at sea."

This scene of hushed rumors being whispered a plenty was not contained to Babylonium alone, in fact those whispers had reached the shores of most every island and most every ear. Perhaps no ear would have been more interested than the ruler of Commexco city, Rojo Pixler, for though he had many "eyes" already surveying the seas depths no form of ancient creature had since turned up. Up in his great towers of his illuminating city Pixler paced his viewing chambers contemplating a way to make passage through the straight to deploy his under water spies without alerting Gorgossium of his presence. Even though Carrion, a man he had intensely feared, was dead it seemed he had an even greater fear of Mater Motley and her horrid stitchling army. Pixler, however, knew the urgent need to know of what attacked that ship and then an idea came to him. He would have to send out one of his many spies, or perhaps create a new one, yes one that resembled some hideous thing that might reside on the Midnight Island to find that sole survivor of that ship. See what this boy knew or what he saw, and if possible invite him to Commexco. Pixler turned towards the door and set about to inform his scientists that new designs were to be made.

Back on the island of Idjit the locals, who either by genetics or by skill managed to live amongst the lightening, were hardly aware of the ill-fated ships demise. The fact that the island was sparsely populated was not only highly unsurprising giving the conditions, but a large factor in their ignorance to current events. There weren't any great commercial businesses or factories settling their productions at 2 am. It was inhabited only by a simple group of people who survived in what, to the rest of the Abarat, seemed like inhospitable and harsh living conditions. It was this day, the same day Pixler was plotting his spying techniques, that a boy on idjit named Ewan was rowing around on the shores of the island taking a break from his detested ritual of daily chores to do a little fishing. His little row boat, that he had become some what of an amateur fisherman in during the past year, was painted on the bottom in the traditional red and glided him along towards a small and rather desolate cove of the island that he had never had the privilege of visiting before.

Ewan would often daydream of leaving Idjit one day, away from chores to sustain life on the island and onto a great city, like Commexco, where he could live in splendor and never have the worry of lightening bolts ever again. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he barely took notice of how close he was to rowing straight into the cove, and before he could gather his wits a powerful current was pulling him in much faster than he had anticipated. Ewan struggled to row away from the cove but being only fourteen he could hardly manage as the current got stronger the closer he got. Before he knew it he was being swept right into that cove and his eyes were able to make out a red tinged mist swirling out from a tunnel of whirling water. He looked above him to see ravens, hundreds of them, flocking about, almost worshiping the swirling area below. Than a thought occurred to him, that he was going to be heading straight for that whirlpool and that filled him with an awful fright. He held on to his oars and tried desperately to steady himself away from the raging waters but it was to no use.

The small fishing boat began to encircle the outer layers of the whirlpool and to Ewans surprise he got a glimpse of something within the whirling depths. He was shocked, yet curious; to see that the birds were indeed flocking to something beneath the whirlpools surface, and as he swirled closer to it he could observe the direction those birds were flying. It was obvious that the surface of the whirlpool and its murky red fogs hid a great many things, because as he was being sucked down he realized that he was now underground. Somehow this whirlpool seemed not to be natural at all, it was almost an illusion, but who would have put this here, for as much as he knew this had been a natural phenomena for at least twenty years.

The rowboat was now past the whirling waters and beneath the island above, gliding in a channel of water in and underground cave. As he floated along oarless, as he had lost them in the strength of the whirlpool, his eyes filled with a most eerie sight. What those ravens had been flying towards was now a sight before his very eyes. It looked like an enormous cathedral, a black church, rising up out of the red mist and those crows flew around and around cawing hysterically as if attempting to revive something, or someone their very souls were dedicated to. The gruesome image of dead bodies along the banks revealed the true horrors of this underground land, and many ravens gorged upon them in between their flights of worship. This was not a place a young boy such as himself wanted to be. He did not want to end up dead and a feast for ravens, vultures or any of the sort. He was right thoroughly terrified by the site of this most nightmarish temple and thought perhaps if he lied in the boat as flat as he could he might sail by unnoticed until he found a way out of the depths of idjit. So Ewan did just this, and he closed his eyes and prayed for safe passage through the realms of the Nightmare Cathedral.


	4. Feast

It has been well over a year since I've updated this story

Midnight Revived:

Chapter 4: Feast

Thoughts flooded through Ewans young mind as the battered fishing boat glided further through the tortured chasm. Thoughts of fresh air and the lightening from the island of Idjit above and about how, even if he wasn't discovered, he would manage to ever escape its core. His thoughts, still cluttered with the current situation, began to roll back trying to recall if anyone in the history of Idjit had ever made reference to such a structure lying with in the islands depths. The answer that echoed back from within his mind of course was no, not a single Abaration soul had ever mentioned it. How could something as imposing as this go unnoticed? How could someone not have dared to venture into the whirlpool above and take claim to such a discovery? Surely there must be some curious and ambitious explorer out there clever enough to crack this mystery?

Podering, Ewan lay, his ribcage flattened to the damp base of the boat, as thoughts of his fate with whatever being lied in wait for him encircled his brain.

Suddenly there came a loud splash from outside his refuge, a splash that caused water to upsurge into the boat. Not wanting to betray his "non existence" Ewan kept perfectly still, barely uttering a breath. Silence. He breathed a little easier now, relaxed his tensed muscles when another splash bought another considerable amount of water aboard his craft. With great apprehension Ewan bought himself up to a crawl position and peeked overboard to witness the cause of water influx. Nothing. Calm smooth waters appeared to his eyes, although a bit murky there was nothing moving within their depths, he was sure of it. Then out of the corner of his eye he caught a bright movement, almost snakelike, breaking up the calm flow of the stream. Fish was Ewans initial thought, but as another shape squirmed in the water, and then another he once again returned to a state of despair.

Before Ewan could surmise what was taking place, it seemed that dozens of these snaking forms began to appear around him newly alerted to his presence. He slammed his body back against the bottom of the boat, cursing to himself for not staying still and moving against his original plan. Obviously his movement had made these fish of some type (though he had never seen fish like this) become highly agitated. They began thrashing against the wood causing Ewan to whimper in great fear. He had never witnessed such predatory fish before. He closed his eyes and began to pray, pray for safety, pray that some hand from the heavens interject and carry him away to safety. Unfortunately for Ewan whatever being lied in the heavens was focused on other events in the Abarat this day and his prayers went unheard.

The smashing din that went on outside the boat halted, and Ewan still with eyes closed, heard an electrical sound, almost, well almost like lightening. Indeed a sound he knew too well. His eyes squeaked open and to his horrific fascination a figure he had once deemed as a fish, was slithering over the boats edge. Ewan was frozen with a terror he had never known for this object to him was unnamable. Not in all his imagination could he have guessed what type of creature it was. It sat there, featureless and wormlike, but yet with some sort of intelligence, and appeared to be watching him. It began to move in a menacing manner as if to entail the best angle at which to strike, but it did nothing. Ewan sat trembling, his eyes searching for some type of weapon but he had none. By this time several other forms, some similar in wormlike fashion, others quite like lightening, had joined over the edge of the boat, but none advanced further.

Ewan was encircled and the situation was at a stalemate so to speak. Suddenly from the base of his skull Ewan began to feel a throb, a small pain that began to swarm to the rest of his head. The snaking forms began to get brighter, almost energized and as they did so the pain in Ewans head intensified two fold. The boy began to twitch in the bottom of the drenched boat. The pain was excruciating now. He turned his head upwards and the figures began to grow larger. More pain. He could barely stand it anymore; he began to scream from the ever increasing pressure. When he looked up again the snaking figures had changed, or rather was changing. They grew larger and the pain increased. Ewan begged for the pain to stop, he begged to be let go. Through the blurriness of pain his eyes suddenly showed him, not the simple slithering forms, but the very horrors transformed into unspeakable terror that no young boy should ever bear witness to.

Screams echoed throughout the caverns under Idjit then suddenly they came to a halt. The ravens flocked around the banks of the stream, their squawks taking up the empty space left behind by ceasing shrieks. The tiny red boat that had been gliding around aimlessly now caught the intense interest of the carnivorous birds. Some perched along its edge judging the perfect spot to begin gorging a new, while the faster birds got to the finest selections first. All in all the birds seemed to ultimately, in their points of view, benefit from their master's resurgence.


	5. Abduction

Chapter 5

Abduction:

The shores of Xuxux held great awe amongst all who passed their ancient glory. Made up of a multitude of glimmering pyramid structures intended as the safe guards of long dead kings, Xuxux played host to all that was sacred and holy. So it was unusual that at this hour a boy would be found lying on the shore just several feet from the base of one of the small triangular temples. His dark locks were pasted to his face covering most of his features as he lay in a sleep that overcame him from pure exhaustion. The skin on his chest was clearly tinged with a greenish color, which differed drastically from the rest of his body, as though it might be undergoing some transformation. Had the boy been alert to his surroundings he would have noticed these observations were not being made by any of the local guards but rather by a grotesque looking creature that observed him quite carefully.

The creature appeared somewhat bat like in formation, with a set of snarling rotted teeth that jutted out constantly, unconcealed even when closing its mouth. The red eyes dilated quite unnaturally and scanned methodically across its unusual find. The idea of such a horrific looking creature completing a methodic and analytic task looked quite odd indeed, and as the boy stirred slightly out of his sleep he almost recognized the creature as familiar, except for these strange methodical habits. Unable to bear himself up the boy lay with eyes slightly, but unnoticeably open trying to make sense of his surroundings, the ghoulish creature included. His mind drifted back trying to recall what circumstances had landed him here and as he thought the blur of images began to form into a clear track of events.

He was aboard the Gabreeze, or rather stowed aboard for purposes unknown to him, attempting to make passage to the very island he had come to rest on. He was not sure how he was to get off the ship and attain access to the island but had been told that it would all be looked after, taken care of. He had to be secretive, things had to be just right, and his existence had to be unknown. Suddenly there was a commotion up above, that was clearly hysteric panic and when he crept out he was met with the unpleasant horror of men being swallowed alive and the ship about to be ripped beneath the waves and he knew this was a sign to spring into action. In all the commotion he had not been noticed, he hoped, storing into a life boat and making his way, despite his own sense of panic, towards the gleaming pyramids in the distance.

Despite the aid in his departure from the Gabreeze his journey was one of great peril and at one point he could have sworn it safer to stay aboard the ship. The waves from the disaster almost engulfed him on several occasions leaving his skin soaked and shivering. Then he felt the pain, a familiar pain that sent him into a panic. He was quite close to shore and had reached into his pocket to obtain a liquid that would put his panic at ease. Grasping the bottle and taking the cap off he began to swallow, and had gotten perhaps a few drops into his mouth when to his surprise a wave rocked the boat violently, sending the bottle of precious antidote into the sea and out of his site. He had not ingested enough to sustain himself from undergoing the further pain for too much longer. As he wait in confused anticipation the craft he was aboard was hit with a wave much bigger than any before it, sent from the final engulfing of the Gabreeze. Suddenly he was thrust from his boat into a roaring rage of water and all went black and he could remember no more.

He woke up now to find himself on the shore of his intended location, a fact that was quite relieving to say the least, but overshadowed by two other obvious situations: For one, his consumption of such a small amount of his medicine was not preventing his skin from mottling, and two there was a familiar, yet odd behaving creature monitoring him while he slept. Had the creature been behaving devilishly as he had remembered it from the depths of Gorgossium he might not have noticed much, but the plain fact that it acted more like a scientist from a lab than a hell bent creature made him somewhat suspicious of its origins. One would think the mere form of the creature would be enough concern, but he had handled these before and knew their weaknesses, but of course this creature wasn't what it appeared to be. This creature was an imposter.

Gaining a little more strength the weary deserter took the chance to sit up to face his query. When he did so it backed off somewhat, intoning a behavior far less aggressive than he had expected, seemingly more concerned with its safety than an outright attack. Seeing that the creature wasn't an immediate threat and by no means intended to attack him for dinner, the boy got up to survey the surrounding temples. He had to get back on track, get busy accomplishing the feat he was sent here to do. As he begun to walk he turned his head to check behind him, to see if the creature would follow, but all he could see was an empty shore line. The creature had taken off no doubt frightened by the idea that this boy wasn't a floating corpse to provide an easy meal. It obviously hadn't entailed a fight to get what it wanted and felt it easier to look elsewhere. There were other shorelines that surely had easier prey to scavenge off than he.

So on towards the pyramid structures he went, he would just have to pray that he hadn't been spotted by any locals and that he could make the journey before his pain increased and he no longer appeared human himself. As he neared the corner of the gleaming base he heard a high pitched screech coming from around the corner and was unable to distinguish who or what created the ear piercing noise. He considered turning back and running to the shore, but then what would he be running to. No he would have to just deal with what was beyond the corner of the pyramid, die trying, because he would surely die if he left with the job undone. His vision was so focused in the direction of the noise that he failed to hear a whizzing hum zooming from behind, until it was too late.

This time he felt a pain again, but it was different, it felt like a pin stabbing into his neck. Sharp and burning. Whirling around in confusion, he focused his last site on the creature that had backed down in defeat, or so it wanted him to believe. His hand went up to the nape of his neck and felt a stinger lodged into the flesh. The creature was staring at him with its former observational manner restored waiting for it's stinger to take effect. Before he could remove the needle and flee to run the boy collapsed unconscious once again leaving himself an easy target.

The creature waited but a few more seconds and moved in close to extend one of its appendages forward to nudge the sleeping target, to make sure there was no movement. Upon assurance that the boy was indeed not a threat the creatures body began to transform. Where it once had just a smooth belly, a set of legs, six of them in bug like stature, had lowered down to gather up its bundle. Instead of lifting its prize to its mouth to begin devouring the daily meal, as one knowledgeable of the habits of this particular night beast would assume would happen, the now "batesque" and bugged legged monster simply rose in the air and flew off carrying its load to the location as per instructed.

Hey everyone let me know how you're liking the story so far, please RandR

Lis.


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